Published: September 18, 2024 Last Updated: January 6, 2025
Have you ever been excited to know what’s underneath a potato plant? It’s just like a treasure hunt, and most of the time when potatoes are grown correctly, you can expect a bunch of spuds. So today I want to share with you the 4 signs I use to know when to harvest potatoes, and hopefully you’ll end up with a bountiful harvest (if you didn’t, stick to the end, and I’ll give you a few tips to increase your yields).
Table of Contents
Before we get right into the signs to look for, it’s extremely important to understand about the potato growing cycle. You first plant a potato in the ground and you water and take care of it. Typically, within 40–70 days depending on the variety of potatoes (I’ll talk more about it later), the potatoes will produce flowers, which brings me onto my first sign.
When To Harvest Potatoes For New Potatoes
The Potato Flowers Bloom
When the potatoes start to flower, it’s time to shower. Just kidding, but flowers on a potato plant means that new or “baby” potatoes can be harvested. In fact, potatoes can be harvested any time while it’s growing, but if you harvest early you won’t get a huge main crop. The potatoes will be smaller and cannot be stored because they have thin skins that will rub off easily.
The thins skins will also quickly evaporate the moisture in the potatoes, so they’ll have to be used quickly once harvested. But these new potatoes are much more creamy and delicious. When harvesting new potatoes, you have to be careful not to bruise them, so use a shovel or pitchfork. Stick it in the ground 12 inches from the plant and loosen the soil. Then gently use your hands to remove the potatoes. Any damage to the potatoes will provoke decay.
When To Harvest Potatoes For Storage
Nearing The Days To Maturity
The second sign to know when to harvest potatoes is when they are approaching the days of maturity, and here’s where things get a little more complicated. There are 3 types of parent potato varieties and each have a different timeline in which they’re ready. The first is early potatoes, second is mid-season and third late season. Early season potatoes are ready in about 65–80 days, mid-season in about 80–100 days and late season 100–120 days.
Now you might be thinking it’s a long time to wait, but just remind yourself to be patient because at the end you’ll get a great harvest. Or on the other hand you can grow early season potato varieties, plant them 2 weeks before last frost date and get potatoes in 8–10 weeks, and you can harvest new potatoes earlier.
The Potato Foliage Turns Brown & Dies Back
The third sign to know when to harvest potatoes is when you see the second sign and when you see your potatoes foliage starting to die back. The colour of the leaves will start to turn brown and will have a paper-like texture.
Now we don’t want to harvest yet, because it’s a little too early. But it’s a great time to water your potatoes so they can bulk up. After the foliage completely dies, you want to wait 2 weeks to let the potato skin thicken, and cure by itself under the ground if you’re storing them. You can also can harvest them and lay them out in a nice, cool and dark space with plenty of airflow to cure.
They’re Killed By A Frost
The fourth sign to know when to harvest potatoes is if the plants are prematurely killed by the frost. Even though the potatoes may not be ready underneath to harvest, you still have to harvest them and then let them cure. Now if you know a light frost is approaching, but after that short cold period, the weather will become warm again, you can take preventative steps to protect your plants. A few blankets and some hot water bottles will sufficiently protect them. Sometimes the potatoes may not be mature enough for storage, so you’ll want to eat those right away before they go bad.
Tips To Increase Your Yields
Now, after harvesting your potatoes, you may have not got any or barely anything, and we get that sometimes. But I want to share with you some tips to have a successful crop.
- Make sure throughout the growing season you weed around the potatoes. I like to do that every 2–3 weeks. I also like to put some mulch to help prevent the weeds.
- In the spring, when I plant potatoes, I like to put 1 tablespoon to 1/4 cup of bone meal per potato planted. The more you put the more you get. Potatoes like phosphorus to grow healthy, big spuds.
- Water a lot. Watering throughout the growing season will help the plants to grow big and healthy, and watering the last 2–4 weeks will help bulk up the size of the spuds.
- In the fall lay down a layer of compost or manure and over winter the nutrients will leach into the soil and worms will mix it up.
FAQ’s
Can you leave potatoes in the ground too long? Yes. Many people store potatoes in the ground over winter and dig them up slowly, but if you want to store them, or you live where it’s very cold, you’ll have to harvest them.
Should I cut the flowers off my potato plants? I’ve tried it, but haven’t seen any big difference at harvest time.
What is the best time of day to harvest potatoes? It doesn’t matter what time to harvest your potatoes, but it depends on the weather. Try harvesting them when the ground is dry and not after a rain.
Why are my potatoes green when harvesting them? Potatoes will turn green when exposed to the sunlight when growing, even in low light. Green potatoes can make you sick, so avoid eating it. You can toss it into the compost pile to break down.
